


Queen's Favor

by Yusagi



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Drama, Maid mc, Maids, Mystic Messenger reimagined with the MC sliding into things differently, Named MC, POV Third Person, RFA is still a thing!, Slow Burn, YOU WON'T SEE THE OTHERS EARLY BUT, elizabeth is a determined cat, in time you will, it's not a huge change in the universe though, maid au, sassy mc, she'll outsmart anyone!, spoilers for some routes likely, though probably not seven, you'd see!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-27 12:04:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10020023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yusagi/pseuds/Yusagi
Summary: Being a maid would be much easier if the cat would just let her do her job.AU - Instead of joining the RFA via random text, MC is hired on as one of the maids assigned to Jumin Han’s penthouse. Nothing else about the setting has changed, the messenger and the RFA still exist, only the MC’s position has been altered.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> She’ll have a name eventually because Emcee is not a name.

The bag of supplies dropped to the ground with a thud and _immediately_ she winced. 

The best part of landing a job as a ‘privately’ employed maid at a huge company building were the fancy _rooms_ in it. Technically she was a contractor, but then again she still had a fleet of bosses who ordered her around as much as they were ordered around by their bosses, and it was way more complex than she wanted to think about.

But even though she’d been warned, she totally forgot the penthouse suite had actual _marble floors_. Sure, rich people liked to live extravagantly, but how annoying must it have been to have a floor that scratched and dented so easily? 

She’d been warned that damage to the floors would require her to personally fix or pay to have fixed anything she caused. Or she’d be ejected from the best paying job she’d so much as _seen_ lately, much less been interviewed for.

It didn’t look like any damage was done, though, so aside from a dirty look and a quick word of warning, her supervisor let it go. This time. Yeah, she needed to pay better attention.

But she’d also walked halfway up the damn building through the staircase until the elevator was actually empty enough for their equipment to fit in. Damn…penthouses and their damn…heights.

Whatever. She’d just have to get used to it now. Even though she was officially employed to keep the whole building clean, there were enough of them employed that they’d made it clear her actual job would pretty much _just_ consist of maintaining the penthouse suite.

Shoving something that sounded like a coveted position off on a new hire meant one of a few things. The owner was some kind of super pervert - couldn’t be, since they were strictly required to not be in the suite when he was home - a super slob - it didn’t appear to be true just looking around from where she stood - or so particular that it would be super easy to get fired for minor offenses.

It was totally the last one. She could sense it.

The long list of assignments and special rules that her supervisor rattled off next to her pretty much confirmed that, too.

Well. She wouldn’t be intimidated. If it was easy to fail, then she’d just succeed instead. She’d be the best maid this place had ever had! 

She took the time that her supervisor gave instructions to inspect the room from where she stood, identifying points of interest and trouble spots…and also admiring it. She had to suppress the urge to whistle. The whole building was pretty extravagant, but the penthouse was impressive even compared to that. It made her own apartment feel about like a broom closet.

Which wasn’t super far off from true, to be fair.

Her supervisor took a step and then suddenly turned around with…unusual urgency. The red hair kept in a high pony tail nearly smacked her in the face, how quickly the woman spun around. “Oh! Crap, this is your first day actually on the job, right?”

“Ah…yeah. I just got done with the training.” She’d been trained before and obviously she had experience, but they’d insisted on training her more. Just to make sure she didn’t break anything.

The woman glanced around the room briefly and then planted her hands on her hips. “Well it’s not in this room, I guess, but there’s a cat. Under no circumstances are you to touch it or shoo it or talk to it. Try not to look at it if you can help it.”

_What_.

Rich people could be touchy but…seriously? How was she supposed to not even _look_ at a cat?

“Is that a joke?”

The woman laughed…but it was not a ‘ha ha I have a sense of humor’ laugh. No, that was definitely a ‘this is the crazy you signed up for applying for a job with rich people’ laugh. “…You probably can’t help looking at it sometimes. Just don’t stare too long. But it stays away from strangers for the most part so, if you see any cat toys or things…just leave them alone unless they’re in the middle of the floor and a trip hazard, alright? He’s very protective and particular about the cat. The last girl tripped over the cat when a spider spooked her and had to sit through three classes about the proper treatment of cats.”

Her supervisor slung the bag of supplies over her shoulder as she walked into another room. “And then she was fired!”

…Well.

At least it was easy to identify what to avoid if she wanted to keep the job. 

She glanced down at the paper that had her assignments on it, and wandered to the bedroom. 

She managed to stumble back out of the way _just_ in time to avoid immediately stepping on the cat like the world’s biggest loser protagonist. It sprinted through the open door and jumped onto a nearby cat tree, trailing white fur through the air after it.

…Despite making her job harder simply by existing, the cat was actually pretty. It looked like one of those poster cats she’d seen on cans of cat food before (and this was the heir of some big business or two, right? Maybe the cat actually _was_ one.). It must have thought itself safe sitting in the cat tree (even though she could have just reached out and grabbed it…) because instead of skittering off further like most of the shy cats she met, it just blinked at her.

And meowed.

She tapped her lips in a shushing motion. “You’ll cause a scandal if you talk to the help.”

And now that her heart wasn’t about to leap out of her mouth, she had a room to clean (and a cat not to talk to). She grit her teeth in concern as she stepped into the room. Bedrooms were second only to bathrooms as far as her least favorite rooms to clean were. Sometimes they were worse.

But actually…it didn’t look bad at all.

Apparently as uptight as he could be about his cat, it showed in his behavior around his house too. Even though the room was a bit of a mess, it  actually looked a bit like most of the mess was caused by the previously trapped cat. Maybe it’d be an easy job after all?

…

…It should have been.

The trouble was, every time she turned around, every time she tossed clothes or something, there that _cat_ was. Right in her way, dodging her or her inadvertent attacks with an expression that could have been disdainful.

“…I thought Mary said you kept away from us, huh?”

It meowed at her again. 

She huffed. There it stood. In her way. She had a handful of towels, and a big fluffy white cat stood in the middle of the doorway. Could she risk trying to step over her and tripping? She wasn’t allowed to shoo it.

Technically she wasn’t supposed to hold a staring contest either, but somehow she doubted “The cat trapped me in the room like a prisoner” would be an acceptable excuse for sitting down in the room and skipping work all day until it left.

It finally moved…but toward her.

“Agh–” She took a step backward, tripped over her _own broom_ , and crashed to the ground. Backward. Not on the cat. See, she was the _best damn maid–_

The cat pounced onto her chest.

“ _Why?!”_ It wasn’t like she hated cats! She liked them, she’d hang out and pet alley cats until they got bored and wandered off to find food she didn’t have. She considered herself a cat whisperer, able to lure the shiest of cats out from under beds to get head pats. So it wasn’t like the cat just sensed her antipathy. But she also wasn’t trying to lure this cat out! At all!

Why was it determined to get her fired? Was this the true reason no one wanted the job?

The cat licked her nose.

She huffed at it, and its paw bopped her lips. Up close, she could read the little pink collar the cat wore through its white fluff. 

“…Elizabeth?” It booped its nose on hers, and then flopped down on her chest like she was _totally_ an appropriate cat bed. “Okay, hey. If I promise to give you a bit of attention will you let me do my work?”

The cat batted at the strands of hair that stirred over her shoulder when she spoke.

Well it was worth a try. At this point the situation couldn’t get much worse unless she stepped on it. And really, she _could_ point out that Elizabeth stepped on _her_ first.

The cat’s fur was the sort of soft that indicated her baths were probably more extravagant than just soap and water, and as expected, she immediately started to purr, bumping her head up against the reluctant petting hand.

“Okay. You’re cute. But if you get me fired we’re enemies for life.”

The cat nipped at her hand and in an attempt to playfully roll over and attack…fell off to the floor.

Much like a cat, she seized the opportunity to jump to her feet and sprint away from the feline. _HAH!_ That’d show her–

She very nearly collided with her supervisor.

“ _Geez!”_ The woman stumbled back a step, expression turning from surprise to annoyance. “Are you just messing around? We’ve only got a two hours left before we’ve gotta be out of here!”

“Wha–no. I was just getting away from the cat!”

The woman gave her an unfairly skeptical look, then looked up and down her shirt. “Were you crawling under the bed? If you get that cat hair everywhere we’ve already cleaned we’re not gonna be able to finish.”

Uh. 

She glanced down and sighed. Of course that shedding cat left fur all over her shirt.

“…No, I was…getting a lint roller!”

One appeared in front of her face. Her supervisor was a well prepared maid, apparently. “If you’re working around animals, always have one of these. Here. Next time get your own.”

“…Sorry.”

She spared the cat an annoyed look  when the woman turned and walked away.

It blinked innocently at her.

What a spoiled brat.

She was much more careful about trip hazards, and she might have intentionally splashed a little water around the ( _massive!!_ ) bathroom to discourage the cat getting too close when she’d knelt down.

It followed her around doggedly. The cat would paw at her hand and try to pull it down for petting, and she’d carefully escape. The cat would chase after her and weave though legs meowing at her and she barely managed not to trip on it. In front of the supervisor.  
  
It wanted her dead, probably. Or it was just _the most_ attention starved cat she’d ever met. 

She hadn’t decided yet, but the close calls with breaking her neck and almost losing her job made her lean a little toward the former. Pretty, friendly cat. Pretty, friendly _secretly evil_ cat.

Though, maybe she should have been more annoyed at whoever employed her? He might have been paying her (probably…?), but if it wasn’t for the weird rules, the affectionate cat would just be that. She’d dealt with affectionate cats plenty of times before, and they were minimally annoying, because they went on their own way after getting a bit of attention or gently shooed.

…being annoyed with the one giving her money probably wasn’t a good life plan.

Well!

She did pretty well for the rest of her time. No falling over. Minimal chit-chat with the cat. She almost made it the entire way before she got trapped again. In. a closet.

It felt like a room, it was big enough to be what passed for her living room, but it had only one exit. The cat blocked it.

Its blue eyes _gleamed_.

This was a plot. She’d fallen into a trap _set by a cat of all things_.

“…Oh _alright already_!” She  tossed her hands into the air and then crouched down to her knees. She’d gotten everything done, there was still time before the owner of the house appeared so she could still rescue herself…and there were no cameras in the closet. Probably.

She couldn’t be fired for petting a cat in a closet. As weird as that concept seemed.

The cat hesitated a moment, looking over its shoulder. 

…Was it seriously going to lose interest in her after harassing her all day? Did all she need do was show interest?!

It mrreowed, and then trotted over to her, propping its two front paws onto her knees. So it could properly mew in her face.

“You _really_ like conversation, don’t you?” Okay. Maybe signalling a truce with it would help her work in the future. Every day being like this would be pretty hellish.

Indeed, it seemed like a _very_ affectionate cat, despite what the supervisor said. It purred, it rubbed its head against her cheek, and it was determined to attack the ties on her apron until they submitted.

When not trying to kill her, the cat was pretty cute.

She laughed as the cat chased around her fingers and pounced a feather duster. She nearly tumbled over when the cat _pounced her face_ like the secret killer it truly was, and she might have lost track of time. A little.

She’d been giving the demanding cat an umpteenth belly rub when the closet door jerked open all at once.

“…Oh.”

Shit.

That sure wasn’t her supervisor staring down at her with a disturbingly blank expression.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the bright side, he wasn’t a super pervert.

On the bright side, he wasn’t a super pervert.

Finding a maid in his closet playing with a cat could have gone much worse if he were, probably.

…Because _that_ was a totally appropriate thought to have while being caught red handed petting the off-limits cat by the (very soon to be ex) boss. But it was that or just feel all the mortification and disappointment at once.

The cat, who really was the one entirely at fault in the _whole situation from the start_ rolled over again and immediately wandered over to greet the tall man who stood at the door of the closet. It bumped its face up against his leg and then curled up to sit next to him. It was hard to say if the cat looked falsely _innocent_ , or if it felt more like a kid hiding behind their parents after _lying about someone_. It probably wasn’t the most important thing to worry about just then.

Behind him, it looked like her supervisor was actively experiencing some kind of heart attack, and that was probably way more important than silly things like ‘who pet the cat’ and ‘the rules of employment’.

…He didn’t seem distracted by the supervisor’s theatrics, but to be fair, the woman was silent, and his 

“It seems insufficient time was provided for your duties.” Although his expression remained as blank as before, she definitely couldn’t miss the annoyance in his voice.

Well at least he wasn’t shouting. Sure getting another job would be all the more difficult after getting fired her first day for insubordination, but at least she wouldn’t get fired while being shouted at. The cat sat at his feet and watched her with an impassive look. It was a scheming sort of cat, and it seemed appropriate to assign it human-like expressions.

“I…N-No, we finished everything.” Did that really make the situation better? Probably not.

A slim brow arched. “And you chose to remain in the closet?”

Well. When looking back at her actions, at least she couldn’t say she didn’t put up a good fight. For being in an indefensible position. And she didn’t resort to ‘the cat intentionally sabotaged me’ either.

Even if it would have been totally true.

“I–”

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Han!” The supervisor clapped her hands together, pleading and apologetic. “She’s a new hire, but this sort of behavior is completely unacceptable! We’ll have her terminated immediately!”

…Well the bus didn’t need to _back over_ her.

She sighed and brushed off her knees as she stood, offering the man a polite bow. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

He knelt down to collect the white cat in his arms and took a step out from the doorway, clearing her path. He seemed…coldly professional and a little bit judgmental on top of being so damn particular and picky that petting a demanding cat could get her fired…but at least he wasn’t mean or aggressive.

And he managed not to look too completely like a Bond villain holding such a cat even if he was her own personal antagonist.

She could hold on to the scraps of her dignity as she walked, at least.

The exasperated supervisor launched into a lecture and a rant as they walked, but it wasn’t really that important. It’s not as if she didn’t understand already what her offense was, and the supervisor wouldn’t be over her for much longer.

The man behind her made a soft sound when she was halfway to the living room, and a moment later the white cat appeared in front of her. Pouncing her pant leg.

She stopped and stared down at the cat, which seemed intent on chewing on the hem of her brand new clothes.

She could probably shoo the cat away, provided it didn’t result in him _suing someone_ for damages, because that would just make things worse. But she also…didn’t actually have to _not_ talk to it, either. He probably couldn’t double fire her.

“H-Hey…” She huffed and knelt down to pet the cat’s head, and its paws grabbed her wrist instead, biting playfully at her hand. The uptight owner _really_ needed to play with it more or something.

She lifted her hand to try to escape, but the cat just raised up onto its hind legs, tail twitching as it seemed intent on devouring the hand that had _done nothing against it_. 

“Come on, let me go now, Elizabeth.” Just being firm with a playful cat wasn’t really that effective usually, but if it could scheme maybe it could be reasoned with? She didn’t want to risk lifting her hand enough to have the cat hanging from her arm _right in front of_ its overprotective owner.

…The cat let go of her wrist and dropped down again!

Rather than let her actually leave, though, it mewed walked in front of her, moving to attack where her apron trailed on the floor. So maybe it didn’t listen and understand like a human.

“What are you _doing_?” Her supervisor leaned in and hissed at her, grabbing her arm and yanking her upright. The cat’s claws briefly caught in the fabric as it lifted up, and as soon as it was free, it skittered away from her, tail flicking those damn white hairs across the ground she’d _just_ cleaned.

“Please ensure that she arrives a half hour earlier tomorrow.” The voice of the man behind them cut through the fresh wave of Mary’s choice words.

“Huh…?” She glanced over in the direction of the voice. That cat had once again retreated to near where he was, though it seemed more interested in the toy it found than him.

“Well, of course we can’t guarantee it will be another woman–”

“Another?” His brows knit slightly in what might have been confusion or perplexity if the rest of his face knew how to express itself. “The penthouse is sufficiently cleaned, there is no reason to change anyone. However, I would prefer not to retrieve anyone from my closet in the future. Ensure everything is finished on time tomorrow.”

Wait…

Wait.

What?

She turned to her supervisor, but the woman looked as confused as she.

“…If there’s nothing else.” The man behind them made an expectant sound. 

If she was apparently forgiven for touching the cat, it was probably best not to wait for him to dismiss her twice.

Her supervisor muttered in confusion the entire way out of the building…but apparently she wasn’t fired by the cat after all, so as bizarre as the entire day had been…it certainly could have been worse.

Making it home and getting to flop down in a bedroom that was…yes, it was _definitely_ smaller than the closet she’d been caught in earlier…while still having a job made the day pretty worthwhile. Even if she’d almost died a couple of times.

–

She really wanted to complain about the extra half-hour, considering the fact that she _did_ finish everything on time the _first_ time, but then it was probably a punishment of some kind for still being in the house when he arrived. Technically that could have been grounds for termination even if she’d done nothing else.

It was a bit of a relief that she could leave a little bit early and not worry about crossing paths with him, anyway. It made her less anxious about the demanding cat.

Mary hadn’t been sure about why he’d made the decision he did, but…ultimately she decided he _probably_ cared more about people spooking the cat or tripping over it than just giving it attention. And lo, not ignoring Elizabeth did wonders for her productivity and her “not breaking her neck” status.

After a few days, Elizabeth even left her alone most of the time. Like they’d worked out some kind of an understanding that avoided near misses with dirty towels.

She sighed as she flopped down on the ground, legs sprawled out in front of her. This was Mary’s day off, which meant it was her first day _alone_ cleaning the place. It also meant she didn’t feel so bad about just sprawling on the ground during her break. Though she’d gotten to a point where Elzabeth didn’t intentionally sabotage her work, her breaks were mostly taken up with entertaining the ever-vocal cat. Sitting on furniture just encouraged the cat to jump on it. Not that it ever seemed to care in the first place.

Spoiled brat.

No way in hell would she lay down on marble, but the area rug in the living room might as well have been a down comforter, so it was more than comfortable as a place for her to sprawl out on and play with the cat.

She laughed as the cat rolled around on its back as if such a position would _increase_ its chances of catching the fluttering toy she danced around it, and the door to the suit opened.

Elizabeth immediately rolled over and looked up at the door. 

She blinked up at the figure standing in the doorway, and then immediately looked down at her watch. It should have been _two hours_ before he came back home!

He tutted lightly as he walked into the room, loosening the cuff-links of his jacket. “It’s not an error, I’ve returned early.”

Oh…well. Damn. She hadn’t even finished completely! Considering he was aware he’d come home early though, that meant she probably wouldn’t be held responsible for not finishing her work _ahead_ of the schedule set out for her, right?

Though it probably didn’t look good just playing with the cat instead of working. It wasn’t like she had a sign up saying ‘This is a break! Will return!’

She shot up to her feet quickly, straightening her uniform. “Um…s-sorry, I’ll head home if you’ve returned.”

“Aren’t you on break?” 

She couldn’t help but squint up at him in surprise. Did he keep track of his employees’ schedules that closely, or did he just make an assumption? “Well, I am, but..”

He hung the business jacket up in the small (…small for the penthouse) closet near the door. “There’s no need to leave prematurely, under the circumstances.”

He took a step, before a ghost of a smirk curled slim lips. “However…try to stay out of the closets.”

He wandered off into his room and the snowy white cat trotted after him.

…Wait.

Was that a joke?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She still hasn't been named, somehow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He didn’t seem to cook but it seemed like he couldn’t decide where in the kitchen (or sometimes his small dining room) dishes went.
> 
> The sink.
> 
> That’s where they went.

A few days passed without accidentally bumping into the corporate heir (she’d been able to identify his actual position after a bit of questioning coworkers) or breaking anything, including herself. For being such good pay, it was a pretty simple job.

And apparently one of the perks was getting to play with the friendly cat and all of her ludicrously expensive toys. Though most seemed to be regular cat toys with diamonds or other frivolous things meant to increase the price pointlessly. Well, it wasn’t her money or her cat. She could hardly criticize someone for wasteful spending when that person had authorized a considerable paycheck for something that she’d have accepted less to do.

She planted her hands on her hips as she surveyed the room.

This was the beginning of her second week, which meant she no longer had a supervisor looking over her shoulder. If the penthouse had actually been _difficult_ to clean in the time she’d been given they’d probably have kept two (or even three) people on it…but now that she’d gotten the hang of what this place required, there wasn’t any need for two. And apparently there were a few nightmares on lower floors that could use all the help they could get.

She wouldn’t thank a cat, but it was definitely fortunate that things worked out in a way to allow her not to need to deal with _those_.

So the master bedroom _and_ the master bathroom were finished. There were still two guest rooms and a guest bathroom, as well as _so many_ closets and two different offices. Well, most of those wouldn’t be very unkempt. The kitchen and the living room were the worst, and usually that had much more to do with the white cat than the heir. If not for the cat, he’d almost not _need_ a maid, in her opinion.

Except for the messy dishes he left all over the kitchen, anyway. He didn’t seem to cook but it seemed like he couldn’t decide where in the kitchen (or sometimes his small dining room) dishes went.

The sink.

That’s where they went.

She shook her head and wandered toward the front room to collect her vacuum. She hated to work in wet clothes, so the dishes could wait. Elizabeth rolled around playing with some sort of feathered toy that reminded her more of a bird toy than a cat toy. The cat paused and looked up at her, meowing as she entered the room.

“It’s not my break time yet. I’ve got this loud vacuum to use first.”

The cat glanced at the machine in question briefly and then went back to its toy. Well, it could have been worse. At least her owner seemed understanding of maids who had no choice but to spook the feline with loud machines. Otherwise it would have been a far more difficult job.

As she made her way to the next room on her list, the front door rattled behind her.

But–it was only 10 am?

She turned quickly in surprise - last time the man hadn’t had any issues with her finishing her job, and had even politely given her a drink before she’d left, but that didn’t mean she should ignore him arriving at all.

…It certainly was not her employer.

“Oh!” The young man who stepped into the penthouse gave a little jump of surprise. “Ah, it’s the maid!” He laughed and waved a hand toward the red vacuum she held in both hands. “I thought you were holding a weapon and ready to ambush me at first.”

How could she have been waiting to ambush _him_ when he didn’t even knock?

He certainly didn’t look like any of the employees she’d seen in the building - at least not the sorts who’d be allowed up in the penthouse when the owner of it was away. His clothes were so casual she’d expect him to have wandered in on the ground floor on accident except he couldn’t have made it all the way to the penthouse on his own. And he didn’t look lost.

He must have been a personal friend. Which…was interesting. How often did people as rich as her employer befriend people who looked like they’d rolled out of a bed in the clothes they were wearing somewhere in a suburban part of town?

With tacky tiger-striped glasses. Maybe he was actually a relative of some sort?

“I’m sorry, Mr. Han isn’t home yet.”

The man laughed again and nodded. “Exactly the plan!”

She frowned. “The plan?”

“Of course! Didn’t Jumin - I mean, _Mr. Han_ tell you?” He placed a hand on his chest dramatically. “I’m _Darling_ _Elly’s_ cat-sitter! When he’s away at work I keep her company!”

If that were so, it would explain why the cat seemed determined to make _her_ that, since he wasn’t around. But…

“I haven’t seen or heard of you.”

“That’s because I was on vacation!” He adjusted the tacky glasses on his face and brushed away a few strands of his red hair that immediately got caught in the frames, before giving a confident thumbs-up. “But I’m here now, so don’t worry! I’ll keep Elly busy while you work, and I won’t make a bigger mess for you!”

He _really_ didn’t seem outfitted like an employee…but if his job was playing with a cat, it wasn’t like there was a uniform for that. And comfortable casual clothes that one wouldn’t mind rolling around in and potentially getting damaged alongside dirty _would_ be appropriate.

And considering the toys the cat was given and the general amount of pampering Elizabeth clearly received considering the rules usually employed for maids, having a cat sitter wouldn’t be unreasonable. It also would explain why he’d made an exception for her cat interactions, if the usual entertainment were on vacation.

She squinted at him a few moments longer before sighing. “You’d _better_ not make anything messier, or you’ll be the one cleaning it up.”

He immediately stood at attention and brought his hand up in a mock salute. “Orders received, Ma’am! I’ll be extra good!”

…Well at least it would make the rest of her job easier if Elizabeth wasn’t always a concern she needed to keep in mind.

She wandered off into one of the guest bedrooms as the red haired man started in toward the cat, chattering excitedly in something that didn’t sound entirely like a human language.

The spare bedroom was one of Elizabeth’s favorite places to prowl around, and it was mostly the only thing to _fix_ about it. Things were knocked off of desks, the sheets were tugged on and mangled up by cat paws, and fur collected _everywhere_.

Still, it wasn’t more than ten minutes before she’d finished. The next thing to do on her list was the guest bathroom, so a vacuum wouldn’t be necessary for it. She wandered back from the room to the living room.

And dropped the vacuum in shock.

The so-called cat sitter spun in a circle in the middle of the room. It _looked_ as if he held Elizabeth by her scuff _with his mouth_ , but his hands were also holding her under her front legs, so maybe he wasn’t?

….He probably was.

“ _What are you doing?!”_

The man jumped again, and in his surprise _dropped the cat_. “Oh! Sir Maid!” He waved a hand in a vaguely dismissive, shaking his head. As Elizabeth bolted across the room away from him. “Nothing! Cat sitting business! We’re just playing~!”

“That isn’t _playing_!” Had he ever touched cats before?! Was he messing with her on purpose…?

If he wanted to do that, she would have rather that he came in and made things messy than traumatize the cat. Her employer would be less angry if she were behind schedule than if the cat were frazzled or injured.

He laughed and shook his head. “Well of course it’s playing! I was being careful, and I’d never hurt Elly, I was just helping her be an airplane.”

“You’re not a cat sitter.”

He looked offended, and he stumbled back a step, the light of the sun glinting on his glasses through the window. “I _am_ a cat sitter! I’m certified.”

“There’s no way.”

“It’s definitely true!” He looked around the room then, and upon spotting the white cat lurking near its tree, lurched after it. “Come back, Elly!”

“No!”

It might have been a drastic action, but it was an urgent situation. If he terrified the cat and made her start shedding or stop eating or injured it, _she’d_ be the one the blame fell on. She wouldn’t lose her job over a weirdo who found his way into the penthouse, and she couldn’t afford to go call security while he could still attack the cat.

So, really.

She didn’t have any choice but to tackle him to the ground.

But he didn’t have to scream so loudly when she did it, like it was _that_ much of a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i lied a little about not seeing anyone else for a while.
> 
> there might be one or two RFA members spotted early on, it is Jumin, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As far as she knew he was a strange weirdo who found a way to break into a rich man’s house just to attack his cat.

“ _GYAA–!”  
_

She couldn’t tell if slamming into the ground knocked the wind out of him and ended the shout early, or if the crash of two bodies hitting the ground drowned out the end of it, but at least it stopped.

He flailed on the ground underneath her, one hand reaching out toward where the white cat peered out from the safety of the bedroom.  For all his flailing, though, he didn’t move anywhere. He seemed much too scrawny to overcome her full body weight, though, so it wasn’t a surprise.

“Elly~! Save me~!” The way he drew out the words, there was no way any cat would come to him. Indeed, the cat immediately disappeared and he dropped his head to the ground in disappointment. 

…It was hard to tell if he’d seriously expected it to work, or if he was simply being dramatic. But it was probably the latter? Surely.

Well, it would be if he were a reasonable person, but as far as she knew he was a strange weirdo who found a way to break into a rich man’s house just to attack his cat. (He _did_ know the cat’s name, though…)

While it wasn’t something loudly broadcasted, as a personal maid it was important to be adept at self defense. When working alone, _anything_ might happen. Random intruders included. So, while he hadn’t managed to squirm his way out of her knee pinning him down yet, she didn’t leave it at that.

She wrested his outstretched arm behind his back and then pulled the other one to join it.

“H-hey! Ow! Ow, ow, ow!”  
  
“If you stop struggling it won’t hurt.” Well, it might be uncomfortable. She wasn’t exactly making an attempt for it to be a comfortable hold, but his flailing about and jerking his shoulders around would have caused him the most pain. For as much as it would have _hurt_.

…But she couldn’t just keep him stuck there until someone came looking for her. She’d get tired, and more importantly she had an actual _job_ to do which wasn’t pinning an intruder to the ground with her hands for hours.

Briefly, she glanced about her surroundings for something to secure his hands together with, before her gaze fell on one of the bracelets around his arms. It looked flexible and long. She shifted slightly to pin his arms with her leg and uncoiled the yellow elastic from his arm.

It looked flimsy, but it felt tougher than that, like some kind of metallic paracord. Which served her purposes just fine.

“Wah–wait you’ll break it!”   
  
Noisy. This guy was so noisy, and she couldn’t help noticing just how much, when the penthouse was always so calm and quiet when she cleaned it. Even when there were others in the place, it never got all that loud. He just kept whining and complaining as she used the bracelet to tie his hands together, but once it was secured, his struggling showed no real effect on the knots.

Good. She hadn’t been completely confident in those. It wasn’t like the life of a maid was so harrowing that she _regularly_ had to tie people up. Or ever.

Never.

She’d never done it before. Because people didn’t generally try to _actually_ break in and mess around with a place when a maid was _right there_.

“Don’t try to get up or I’ll tackle you to the ground again and tie up your legs this time.” If she could find rope. Maybe his shoelaces would work? Well, actually she just wanted her threat to work long enough for security to arrive and deal with him instead.

“Not necessary! Not necessary!” He looked over his shoulder at her - or at least he made a good attempt at trying to turn his head like an owl. “I won’t invoke any more violent ire, but I told you! I’m Jumin Han’s friend! This isn’t necessary!”

She didn’t know much about the man who owned the penthouse other than that he seemed very strict and very quiet, but ‘friend’ seemed very unlikely. If only because no cat owner would stand for that kind of manhandling. Let alone one so protective of his cat.

“You were trying to kill his cat.”

“ _I WOULD NEVER!”_

He _said_ that, but she couldn’t imagine any other coherent reason for treating a cat so bizarrely and roughly.

She brushed her hands off as she stood, and walked over to call the security desk. To his credit, as weird as he was, he really didn’t try to move. He whined and complained, but he didn’t immediately start wriggling toward the room with the cat in it or something. She’d really have had to tie him up more than that if he had.

The security officer she spoke to over the phone was…surprisingly calm about the matter. Whoever he was, he must have been _somewhat_ familiar to the house and the workers there, as the guard merely seemed exasperated with the red haired man when the guard appeared.

Rather than pull the man out of the room, the bespectacled youth ended up planted on a chair, watched by one of the bodyguards while original security man spoke to someone on the phone. Contextually, it would have to be the cat’s owner.

She observed the process for a little while, but once it was evident they waited for the man to return, she turned her attention back to her work. They wouldn’t need her help keeping him subdued and it _still_ wasn’t her job to keep unwelcome intruders in line. She had dust bunnies to deal with and a few more challenging wars to wage in the rooms that managed to get mangled every day. Usually by the cat.

And she didn’t want to be associated with the situation at all if Elizabeth looked distressed when he came back. It wasn’t her fault, she wouldn’t get lectured for it. No way.

It was only about a half hour before the front door opened to admit the man of the house. She happened to be standing in a hallway near to the living room when he did, and was close enough to watch his expression turn from pensive thoughtfulness to something that…might have been amusement.

They weren’t _actually_ friends, were they?

“Didn’t I tell you not to come here anymore?” His tone was casual as he walked toward the sitting boy. 

“A hero won’t stand idly by while the princess is trapped in a gloomy tower!” She couldn’t actually see the intruder’s face from where she lingered, eavesdropping, but he sounded almost _sincere_ in his bizarre delusion.

“…Heroes are usually arrested?”

An offended huff responded to his comment. “I couldn’t have expected the evil overlord to have actually hired ninja maids to guard the castle. This dramatic set back only means I’ll return to triumphantly rescue her next chapter!”

“No. You won’t.” She couldn’t see either of them now, and she didn’t want to get close enough for them to see her. Especially since the captive man referenced her. “Ninja maid?”

The security guard responded. “The one who called us was one of the maids.”

It was brief and, from where she stood, quiet…but his laughter sounded surprisingly nice. For being so cold and blank most of the time, the amusement that echoed in his short laugh felt warm.

…She had to finish her work, not eavesdrop on a conversation between two people who clearly knew each other better than she knew either of them, but she still couldn’t help a bit of a smile when she ducked into the nearest bathroom to work.

He really did have a nice laugh.

–

Initially, it hadn’t really hurt. The excitement of the moment and how busy she’d been the rest of the day playing catch-up to all the time the weird cat assaulter wasted, but once she got home she realized her whole body ached.

Crashing into the ground with a bony human underneath her probably left her with more bruises than it did to him. Maybe she _should_ have been a bit more rough with him. Especially since it sounded a bit like she’d just been dragged into some kind of weird inside joke between two…maybe…not friends?

They hadn’t really sounded like friends, but nothing about their conversation seemed serious enough to actually call them enemies, either.

She flopped down into her bed and suppressed a wince at the way her soreness seemed to reverberate with the vibrations in the mattress. 

Wouldn’t be nice if she got a bonus for protecting the cat?

She probably should just be happy he didn’t check the CCTV records and see the part where she technically _let_ him do it first. Even though it wasn’t like she had the authority to tell people who could or couldn’t go into a penthouse suite that wasn’t even hers. She was _literally_ the hired help. Unless people did something illegal or dangerous in front of her, she basically didn’t exist.

She might have liked not existing right then.

It would mean she’d be less sore, probably.

“…Guh.”

If he showed up again tomorrow and tried to mess up her day _again_ , when she’d just gotten used to how easy and relaxed the job was, she couldn’t promise herself she wouldn’t just break his glasses and kick him bodily out the door.

He’d proven to be pretty weak today, so she could _probably_ succeed in violently ejecting him if she tried. And she’d spread information about him through the rest of the maids and other coworkers in the building. See if he ever got a decent maid for himself _then_.

…She couldn’t help but worry a little bit that the fiasco spooked the cat away from _her_ just by being involved in it.

–

Somewhat surprisingly, it did not. Even though Elizabeth stayed in the bedroom hidden under the bed the rest of the day of the commotion, the very next morning she behaved as if nothing happened at all, trotting up to greet her as soon as she arrived, and then lazily playing with toys wherever she felt like.

Almost more importantly, the red haired man did not reappear.

Maybe he took the threat Jumin Han made about police seriously.

Fur seemed to be _everywhere_. Moreso than usual. Which meant the cat must have been shedding excessively. Was it the time of the year, or despite the cat’s apparent nonchalance, was it still stressed from the previous day’s incident?

During her lunch, after eating she sat down on the soft rug in the living room. Rather than approach and attempt to pounce or draw her into some sort of play, the white cat simply laid down next to her leg and dropped her fluffy white head on a knee.

…Maybe the cat really was a bit worn out still?

“I don’t think he’s coming back any time soon.” She reached down and ran her fingers lightly through the unnaturally soft fur. “You should be okay now.”

The cat lazily swatted at a dust mote that floated near its face. 

Where did all the dust in the suite even _come_ from?

She flopped back on the rug herself, hands and arms splayed out on either side of her, and admired the ceiling. It should have been regular stucco, but from where she lay…it looked like someone might have actually put purposeful patterns in it instead. Who would waste the time or the money on something so trivial? 

It did kind of look nice, though, if that’s what it was.

White fur moved from her leg to curl up between her arm and chest, purring lightly. “Don’t you step on my face next just because I’m relaxing. I defended you yesterday, you know.”

The cat gave no sign it heard her.

Before she could continue her lecture, the front door opened to admit the one who owned the penthouse suite. Considerably early. She couldn’t help but wonder if he _only_ did that while she was lying on the floor looking like a child who’d just played herself out running all over the penthouse and back with the cat.

It seemed like it so far.

“You’re here.”

The cat lifted her head and then wandered leisurely to where he stood. It seemed like it would be disrespectful to hold a conversation while staring out at the upside down world beyond his large windows…so she, too, sat up to speak to him. “I’m afraid I’m only halfway done.”

“That’s to be expected, given the time.” He made a small gesture with one hand, a minuscule dismissive wave. As if the concern was much too small to be bothered with anything grander than that. “It’s why I returned home early.”

…hold on.

Why did he do _what_?


End file.
